MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - So Who's Still Loving Their Kindle Voyage?

jswinden · 04-22-2016, 11:04 AM

I still like my poor neglected Voyage, but I don't love it by any means. It does have a lot of good things going for it, but also some bad things.

Things I Like about the Voyage

The flush screen is nice. No dust bunnies accumulate in the corners and no pet hair gets lodged under the bezel edge.
Lightweight design.
Small design footprint. But let us be honest here, it is not pocket-able nor ever could be with a 6" screen. Making it too small it will lack usability. As it is the Voyage is really a bit too small. I wish it was a bit larger to make holding it and using it a better experience.
The actual eInk screen is wonderful. It has very good resolution and a crisp, sharp look to it. The text still sucks but that is the fault of the jerks at Amazon who refuse to use better fonts are at least allow us to easily add our own. The screen has the potential, now Amazon needs to modify the FW to make it pop!

Things I Don't Like about the Voyage

I hate that oricrappy cover, or at least I hate opening it as it flops in all directions. I've already dropped it twice due to that floppy cover. Since I never read with any device propped up in a cradle, the origami cover is not ideal for me, but it was the only game in town when I bought my Voyage.
I strongly dislike the light layer that IMO degrades the view of the eInk screen. Mine doesn't have all the color patches of all the PWs I tried, but it still looks a bit murky due to that light layer being plastic, and the LED color is still way too bluish rather than a warmer color. It makes it rather harsh on my eyes when at night or in dark locations. I wish they made a Voyage without the light layer. Reading in a well lit location is a pleasure though.
I hate the page turn thingies with a passion. They are right in the way and I had to disable them to keep from accidentally turning pages. So I kind of see why they made the Oasis bezel so wide, though I don't care for that look either. And the page turn thingies just don't seem to have the correct feel and feedback to be useful.
The bezel is too narrow for me. My thumb, even when turned sideways, is twice as wide as the bezel, and that is problematic. I have to shift my thumb around a bit to see text in that area of the screen. For me the bezel at the bottom is just about the correct width for my fat thumb, but I understand how that would be too wide for many people.

Conclusion

The Voyage could definitely be better. However it serves its purpose as a very capable eInk reader in well lighted locations. To me it is terrible for reading in the dark, but I have other devices for that. As far as eInk devices, it is the best one I've owned, but I'm still awaiting a truly good one to come along that is designed for usability rather than to sell books.

04-22-2016, 11:04 AM	#104
jswinden Nameless Being	I still like my poor neglected Voyage, but I don't love it by any means. It does have a lot of good things going for it, but also some bad things. Things I Like about the Voyage The flush screen is nice. No dust bunnies accumulate in the corners and no pet hair gets lodged under the bezel edge. Lightweight design. Small design footprint. But let us be honest here, it is not pocket-able nor ever could be with a 6" screen. Making it too small it will lack usability. As it is the Voyage is really a bit too small. I wish it was a bit larger to make holding it and using it a better experience. The actual eInk screen is wonderful. It has very good resolution and a crisp, sharp look to it. The text still sucks but that is the fault of the jerks at Amazon who refuse to use better fonts are at least allow us to easily add our own. The screen has the potential, now Amazon needs to modify the FW to make it pop! Things I Don't Like about the Voyage I hate that oricrappy cover, or at least I hate opening it as it flops in all directions. I've already dropped it twice due to that floppy cover. Since I never read with any device propped up in a cradle, the origami cover is not ideal for me, but it was the only game in town when I bought my Voyage. I strongly dislike the light layer that IMO degrades the view of the eInk screen. Mine doesn't have all the color patches of all the PWs I tried, but it still looks a bit murky due to that light layer being plastic, and the LED color is still way too bluish rather than a warmer color. It makes it rather harsh on my eyes when at night or in dark locations. I wish they made a Voyage without the light layer. Reading in a well lit location is a pleasure though. I hate the page turn thingies with a passion. They are right in the way and I had to disable them to keep from accidentally turning pages. So I kind of see why they made the Oasis bezel so wide, though I don't care for that look either. And the page turn thingies just don't seem to have the correct feel and feedback to be useful. The bezel is too narrow for me. My thumb, even when turned sideways, is twice as wide as the bezel, and that is problematic. I have to shift my thumb around a bit to see text in that area of the screen. For me the bezel at the bottom is just about the correct width for my fat thumb, but I understand how that would be too wide for many people. Conclusion The Voyage could definitely be better. However it serves its purpose as a very capable eInk reader in well lighted locations. To me it is terrible for reading in the dark, but I have other devices for that. As far as eInk devices, it is the best one I've owned, but I'm still awaiting a truly good one to come along that is designed for usability rather than to sell books.